Anyone who still follows this blog has probably figured out that I don't post here anymore. I realized this sad fact when I noticed that my last post was asking for mojo on my father's cancer surgery and he's been dead a week already.

Anyway, I'm not going to delete the account, because there's all kinds of odd, interesting bits of personal history in this archive. But f you want to stay connected and know what I'm up to, follow me on Twitter as faustfatale or "like" me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/christafaust .

My Pop is a 20 year cancer survivor. He fought hard and beat the odds, but now he’s in for a rematch. He’s going in next week for surgery to remove a new malignant growth and reconstruct his damaged jaw and throat for the second time. It’s gonna be a tough fight, so please send all the virtual internet mojo you can muster.

I’ve been avoiding making a public announcement about this, because I was hoping that some kind of miracle would happen and I would find a way to write 25K a day and finish my last Fringe novel ahead of schedule. Alas, that isn’t going to happen.

So, I’m sorry to say, I will not be blogging the Los Angeles Film Noir Festival this year. For the first time in I don’t even know how many years, I will be unable to attend every single night of Noir City. I will still be there for opening and closing nights, and will try to catch one or two other shows if possible, depending on how well the daily word count goes, but it’s just not the same.

I can’t tell you how heartbroken I am over this. This is my annual celluloid vacation, an event I look forward to all year. I also love being able to share the experience with my readers and provide running ringside commentary on rare films that you may never have heard about otherwise.

So weigh in, Noir Hounds. If you could only see one or two of these shows, which ones would you choose?

If she's had the surgery and ongoing hormone therapy for more than two years (she has) then it seems like any "masculine" advantage would be cancelled out, wouldn't it? After all, isn't testosterone what makes a man who weights 144 lbs stronger than a woman at the same weight? I certainly don't think a match between Fox and a person with a system full of testosterone (natural or artificial) would be a fair fight. Put her in a match against fellow featherweight Cristiane Cyborg Santos and she'd probably lose. Why? Because she has less testosterone in her system than the steroid-enhanced Cyborg.

Sadly, I think actual science has very little to do with most people's reactions to Fox. I also think that it would be very easy for sour grapes opponents to claim that they lost because Fox is transgendered and not because she trains harder or because she's a better fighter. And I can't help but wonder what people's reactions would be to a transgendered male fighter.

I don't know about you, but I'm in Fallon Fox's corner. I say, let her fight!

I think that's a little misleading. The entire porn biz isn't the "danger" in the story, it's really just a few bad guys connected to sex slave trafficking. The porn business itself is portrayed, I thought, in a very balanced way, populated (like every business) by all different kinds of people, good, bad, or somewhere in between. Angel has both positive and negative feelings and experiences in the industry. I hate to think that someone would read that book and come away with the idea that the porn industry is inherently bad or dangerous.

Or am I maybe misreading the author's intentions with this line? Thoughts?

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When I was researching head trauma and CTE (known in the fight game as Punch Drunk Syndrome) for my novel CHOKE HOLD, I became aware of the Sports Legacy Institute founded by former pro wrestler and college football player Chris “Harvard” Nowinski. I’m proud to say that I was able to raise almost $1000 for concussion research by auctioning off an advanced copy of the book.

Now I’m not a football fan, but I know that today is a big day for people who are. So I’m asking all you football fans out there (and non-fans too) to please consider making a donation to this worthy cause today. Even if it’s just a tenth of your beer budget for the night. Think of it as pouring one out for our dead homies. Guys like Andre Waters, Cookie Gilchrist and Greg Lens. Guys who, like fighters and pro wrestlers, willingly sacrificed their bodies and brains for your entertainment.

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When I was brainstorming ideas for Olivia's prequel, I was inspired by a question posed online by fans:

"Why is Olivia unable to tell John Scott she loves him?"

Answering this question ultimately became the emotional heart of book 2.

(edited to add: Just to clarify and avoid misunderstanding, book 2 is not about Olivia's relationship with John Scott. It's about her teen years and what happens to her that makes her unable to commit to a serious relationship later in life.)

So tell me, what other burning questions about Olivia and Peter's background/early life would you like to see answered in their respective books?

(edited again to add: These books are officially licensed tie novels. Click for more info.)

Post your questions here, and while I can't promise that every single one will be explicitly addressed in the books (since all story elements are ultimately subject to approval by Bad Robot) I'd really love to hear what's on your minds.

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I finally got the go ahead from my editor to spill the beans on the top-secret tie-in project that has eaten my life over the past few months.

That’s right, Faustketeers, it’s FRINGE.

For those unfamiliar with the show, it’s kind of an X-Files-style science fiction series in which a female FBI agent teams up with a (literally) mad scientist and his reluctant, ne’er-do-well son to investigate an escalating plague of weird, unexplained phenomena.

I’ve been hired to write three prequels, each centered around one of the three main characters. The first, called THE ZODIAC PARADOX, features Walter, the scientist, along with William Bell and Nina Sharp in 1974. The second THE BURNING MAN, features Olivia, the FBI agent, as a teenager in 1995. (This is the book I’m working on right now.) The third and still untitled book will feature Peter, the scientist’s son, during his shady, gray-market dealings in 2008, just before the start of the first season.

Will post more details as they become available.

Edited to add: My first Fringe book doesn't seem to be available for pre-order yet but the second one is. You can also read more about them both here.